LIVERPOOL Football Club has apologised to the people of Anfield for leaving them living in limbo for more than a decade while it made up its mind whether to stay at its current ground.

At a press conference called to announce £150m plans to revamp its stadium – bringing to an end years of speculation about building a new ground in Stanley Park – club managing director Ian Ayre said “the best thing we can do as apologise and find the right solution.”

The plans are likely to see a number of houses demolished to make way for the redevelopment of the stadium. Over the years, the Reds bought up a number of properties in Lothair Road – immediately behind the ground – but they were left to fall into dereliction.

The street became the target of vandals and arsonists, with 14 separate fires in the properties over six years, causing misery to the few residents who remained.

Now, with the news that the club is to stay at Anfield, the years of uncertainty suffered by the community should be brought to an end.

Mr Ayre said: “I’m happy to apologise on behalf of the club for anything people feel aggrieved about.

“I think the message I got from residents when I first came to the club five years ago, and more recently when I became managing director, was that they wanted a solution, for the area to be improved.

“I think the first thing we can do is apologise and find the right solution.”

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said he believed Mr Ayre’s sentiments were “spot on”, and added that the change in ownership at the club had been crucial in making progress.

He said: “(The difference between) dealing with the administration of the club now and dealing with the previous owners is like chalk and cheese.

“There’s an element of trust and collaboration now.”

Mayor Anderson said that while the club finalised its plans, the council would continue to invest in refurbishing hundreds of houses in the area, but warned that there was a chance that some properties may need to be compulsory purchased in order to allow the Reds to enhance the ground.

He said: “Houses will be valued and we will take into consideration the collapse of the market in that particular area.

“Who pays the differential, that’s something the council, (housing association) Your Housing and the football club will have to discuss. We are not going to discuss in public how we make that decision.

“We have to recognise that sometimes the public sector does have to make investment, because it’s the right thing to do and the outcome is that you create jobs and wealth and that drives the value of properties up.”

The progress of the development is likely to be speeded up by the fact that social landlords Your Housing, formerly Arena, owns a number of properties in the streets that are most likely to be affected – Lothair Road, Alroy Road and Sybil Road. Some of these properties may need to be demolished if the club plans to expand its current footprint.

Kathy Cowell, chair of Your Housing, said: “We will treat people fairly and they will get the market value for their properties as compensation, and we will rebuild and refurbish houses.

“We will work with people and make sure it is a process everyone is comfortable with because we want it to go smoothly.”

But John Nolan, chair of the Rockfield Residents Association, said while the committee was pleased at the news, it had not been consulted before the official announcement was made.

Mr Nolan added: “We feel they should have spoken to us beforehand, that we should have been involved before. We are happy to work with them.

“I think it’s right that they should have apologised, but I’m just glad they’ve made the announcement, which should come as a relief to people who live round here.”

Liverpool FC managing director Ian Ayre: We need new stadium to compete at the top level

LIVERPOOL FC managing director Ian Ayre said improving the stadium was key to the club’s future ability to compete at the top level of domestic and international football.

He said the increase in revenue from the extra capacity would help put the Reds on a level playing field with major Premier League clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.

But he sought to allay fears that the club would seek to increase its revenues mainly through corporate “premium seats” at the expense of ordinary fans.

He said: “This is not about premium seats, it is about capacity. We are here to compete and that means pricing tickets and products at the same level as our competitors.

“It is unrealistic to expect to create a sustainable business if you do not compete on the same level.

“There is no doubt premium products drive the vast majority of the return on investment.

“Some of the seats will have to be premium, but our fans are smart enough to know getting that balance right is what it is all about.”

He added: “Are we confident that we can deliver a solution for it and finance it? Yes.”

Mr Ayre said the club would be working closely with Your Housing and the council to ensure the maximum benefit to the club and the community.

He added: “Any final decision about extending Anfield will be dependent on two main factors – firstly that the community and homeowners are supportive of the proposed stadium expansion and secondly our ability to navigate the complex planning landscape.”

It is understood a planning application will be put in by early summer next year.